Serving tray



R. E. FLORY Nov. 4, 1947.

SERVING TRAY Filed Oct. 23,

INVENTOR RAY G FLORY ATTORN EYE Patented Nov. 4, 1947 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 2,430,049 SERVING TRAY Ray Eugene Flory, Eaton, OhioApplication October 23, 1944, Serial No. 559,926

2, Claims. 1

This invention relates to an apparatus adapts to be used in serving anumber of persons.

The well-known roadside food establishment is now a part of the Americansystem of obtaining quick luncheons, these establishments catering totransient trade, and as one form of their service, food is taken to theautomobile upon demand by the customer. In catering to a transient tradein automobiles, it is necessary that each individual customer shall havea lap.

tray so that his portion of the food can be placed before him. Whenusing individual lap trays to supply each of the customers with theirindividual order, the attendants of the food establishment are causedconsiderably extra work and effort in traveling between the car and theservice counter to pick up all of the individual lap trays to serve evena number of people in a single automobile.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a serving trayor serving "apparatus that is constructed and arranged in. such a mannerthat it will contain a plurality of individual lap trays, and one of thelap trays will be adapted to carry the edibles to the point of service,and from which they can be distributed after the individual lap trayshave been distributed to the customers in the automobile.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a serving devicethat is adapted to be supported upon a window ledge of the automobile,wherein the serving device is provided with a plurality of removableserving trays, the top serving tray being adapted to support the ediblesfor distribution after removal of the other of the serving trays fromthe serving device.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a serving devicethat consists of a frame constructed and arranged to removably support aplurality of individual serving trays, and Wherein the top tray can beused to support materials to be served, and being also removable fromthis frame.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a serving device inaccordance with the foregoing object that is provided with means bywhich the device can be supported upon a window ledge of an automobile.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the drawingsand the following description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side eIeVatiOn J view of the serving device of thisinvention, also showing the method of its use.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the serving device shown inFigure 1.

Figure 3 is a top view of the serving device.

Figure i is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the frame that supportsthe serving trays, and is taken along line 1-4 of Figure 3.

In this invention the serving device I!) consists of the side Walls IIand i2 disposed in parallel relationship, and are joined by a rear walli3, thereby forming a U-shaped frame member. A suitable bottom wall M issecured to the side walls II and I2 and the rear wall l3 to add to therigidity of the frame l0. It will, of course, be understood that thebottom wall I4 need not be a solid Wall, but may consist of one or morestraps extending between the side and rear walls.

The side Walls H and !2V are each provided with a plurality of ledges i5along the inner faces thereof. The cooperating ledges I5 on the sidewalls H and i2 are each adapted to support a lap tray it, whereby eachof the lap trays are removable from the frame It. The la'p trays l6 areeach provided with a handle IT for pulling the same out of the frame I0.

The top tray [Ed has the upper surface It thereof exposed so thatvarious articles can be placed upon the tray lGa, as illustrated by theglasses i9 and the food receptacle 20.

It will be quite apparent from the foregoing description that theserving device is readily capable of being used for serving a number ofindividual customers and supplying the individual customers withindividual lap trays. The articles to be served are placed upon the toptray Mia, and the entire serving device It is then taken to the place ofservice. The individual lap trays l6 may be passed to the individualcustomers and the articles being served transferred from the top traylta onto the individual lap trays l6. The last customer served may usethe top tray I60, for his or her individual lap tray. It will,therefore, be seen that a conveniently arranged device has been providedfor serving a number of individual customers at a place of service andsupplying each of them with a lap tray, and being able to carry all ofthe articles to be served with the lap trays to the place of service inonly one trip.

The serving device of this invention is particularly adaptable for usein those serving establishments that cater to a transient trade, such asthe automobile tourist trade wherein the establishment provides as apart of its service, car service to the automobiles. Under thesecircumstances it is convenient to have the tray or serving devicearranged so that it can be supported upon a window ledge of theautomobiles.

As shown in Figure 1, the serving device In is supported upon the doorof an automobile. The front edge of the bottom wall M of the servingdevice In is provided with a plurality of downwardly extending ears 26that are adapted to extend into the groove or slot 21 that receives theglass 28 of the door, the glass 28, of course, being placed in a downposition to permit the ears or tabs 26 to extend into the slot 2'1.

A support arm 29 is pivotally secured to a bracket 39 by means of apivot pin 31, the bracket 30 being secured to the bottom wall l4 of theserving device It. The free end of the support arm 29 is provided with arubber vacuum pad 32 pivotally secured on the end of the arm 29 by thepivot pin 33. In fact, the vacuum pad or cup 32 engages the outer doorpanel 34 to support the serving device thereupon, and prevents relativemovement between the arm 29 and the door 25 so that the serving deviceIn will not fall from its position as illustrated in Figure l, v

To prevent rearward tilting of the serving device l0 about the pivot pin3| in the bracket Bil, an arm 35 is provided on the bracket 30 thatengages the arm 29 when in position to support the serving tray. ll].

It will be understood, of course, that various materials, such asmetals, plastics, wood, and others can be used in the manufacture of theserving device in this invention.

It will also be understood that while the device disclosed and describedherein constitutes a preferred form of the invention, yet it can bechanged mechanically Without departing from the spirit of the inventionand that all of the thereupon and position the device above the upperedge of the door of an automobile to allow removal of all of saidserving trays from the device over the top edge of the door whensupported upon the automobile door, and a bracket arm pivotally carriedfrom another part of the brace means extending downwardly and angularlyforward toward said ledge means whereby to provide therewith atriangularly arranged support en gaging a wall of the member upon whichthe serving tray is to be supported.

2. A portable serving device adapted to be removably supported upon adoor of an automobile including in combination, a pair of side walls andan end wall joining said side walls to form a substantially U-shapedframe structure having at least the top portion and a front wall portionthereof unobstructed by any structural members,

modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims areintended to be included herein;

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A portable serving device adapted to be removably supported upon adoor of an automobile including in combination, a pair of side wallsarranged in parallel and a wall joining said side walls to form a rigidframe structure having at least the top portion and a front wall portionthereof unobstructed by any structural members,

a plurality of vertically spaced guide means on each of said side wallsfor providing supports for. serving trays and positioned closelyrelative to each other to provide only sufiicient space therebetween toreceive a serving tray, a plurality of serving trays carried upon saidguide means remoVable therefrom through the open front wall portion ofsaid frame structure, the uppermost serving tray only being adapted whenin the device to support articles to be served, means eX- tendingbetween the lower edges of said side walls to provide brace meanstherebetween, ledge means depending from said brace means adjacent theopen front wall portion of said frame for insertion in the glassreceiving slot in the upper edge of the door of an automobile to supportthe device a plurality of vertically spaced guide means on each of saidside walls for providing supports for serving trays and positionedclosely relative to each other to provide only sufficient spacetherebetween to receive a serving tray, a plurality of serving trayscarried upon said guide means removable therefrom through the open frontwall portion of .said U-shaped frame structure, the uppermost servingtray only being adapted when in the device to support articles to beserved, wall means attached to the lower edges of said side walls, ledgemeans comprising at least two projections depending from said lastmentioned wall means adjacent the forward edge thereof for insertion inthe glass receiving slot in the upper edge of the door of an automobileto support the device thereupon and position the device above the upperedge of the door of an automobile to allow removal of said serving traysfrom the device over the top edge of the door when supported upon theautomobile door, one of said projections being positioned adjacent eachof said side walls for providing at least a two-point engagement withthe automobile door upon which the serving device is supported, armmeans pivotally carried upon said last mentioned wall means andextending forwardly toward said ledge means to engage a wall'of the doorupon which the serving device is supported, and a friction pad on theend of said arm means whichengages the door to prevent movement of thearm means relative to the door.

RAY EUGENE FLORY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,533,857 Hart Apr. 14, 19251,951,261 Thompson Mar. 13, 1934 1,958,266 De Foe et a1, May 8, 19342,049,386 Temperli July 28, 1936 2,271,884 Blair 1 Feb. 3, 19422,275,060 Griffin Mar. 3, 1942

